JTWood wrote:I'm telling you. This is the Renteria negotiations all over again. I am not counting on us signing him.

it certainly seems like it. i've even heard the union is pressuring the player to take the higher offer line. i suppose i can handle it if walt pulls a rabbit out of the hat again, but i dont think we will be finding any ecksteins again or be able to handle a reyes trade. trading away marquis had me almost as excited as getting burnett.

JTWood wrote:I'm telling you. This is the Renteria negotiations all over again. I am not counting on us signing him.

it certainly seems like it. i've even heard the union is pressuring the player to take the higher offer line. i suppose i can handle it if walt pulls a rabbit out of the hat again, but i dont think we will be finding any ecksteins again or be able to handle a reyes trade. trading away marquis had me almost as excited as getting burnett.

UPDATE:
A.J. Burnett isn't likely to come to an agreement with either the Blue Jays or Angels tonight. More conversations are scheduled.
It's still believed that Burnett will likely join the Jays on a five-year, $55 million contract, but the Cardinals haven't been ruled out. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told reporters that no further discussions were scheduled for tonight or Tuesday morning. Dec. 5 - 9:25 pm et
Source: ESPN.com

1337_Dude wrote:If i'm Burnett I think i'd go to the Cards. I would much rather the chance at playing on a Winner and in St. Louis who for the most part seem to treat their big players very well (No Offense to Toronto). I'm sure that money is the big factor in all of this, but I would think I could give up some money and have the chance at another championship rather then go to the AL East and get beat up by the Yankees, Sox, and Orioles all year round.

Orioles? You mean the team that has only beaten the Jays once in the last 8 years in the overall standings?

As for the Sox and the Yankees, have you seen them lately? They certainly aren't the teams they were a few years ago.

The Orioles may not be one of the most feared line-ups in baseball, but they are more then servicable. Also, in regards to the Yanks and Sox...what do you mean they aren't the teams they were a few years ago? Scoring wise they are very close to the numbers they have put up the past 3-4 years. Also when mentioning where he was going I didn't say anything about the D-Rays and they have a nice up and coming offense as well.

The St. Louis Cardinals, the only other team still in contention for Burnett, would need to do something "extraordinary" to land the pitcher, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.The Blue Jays' offer to Burnett is superior to the Cardinals' in both years and average salary, the source said. The Cardinals are not expected to budge from their proposed four-year term.

Burnett's representatives informed the Rangers and Nationals on Monday night that Burnett had narrowed his choices to the Blue Jays and Cardinals.

The Jays' signing of Burnett, coupled with their earlier addition of closer B.J. Ryan, would give the team the two most expensive pitchers on the free-agent market to date, with deals totaling a combined $102 million.

Burnett, 28, is 49-50 lifetime with a 3.73 ERA. He lost his last six decisions while pitching in a pennant race for the Marlins last season, and the team sent him home early after he criticized the organization.

If the Jays complete their deal for Burnett, their next step likely would be to trade right-hander Miguel Batista, who no longer would be needed as their closer or as a starting pitcher.

The Jays are targeting a number of hitters, including Brewers first baseman Lyle Overbay, Rangers outfielder Kevin Mench and Nationals outfielder Brad Wilkerson.

The Burnett signing also could spark other activity in both the free-agent and trade markets. Agent Scott Boras, for example, has been waiting for the Burnett deal to be completed before aggressively pursuing deals for his free-agent starting pitchers — right-handers Kevin Millwood and Jeff Weaver and left-handers Jarrod Washburn and Kenny Rogers.

I'm still wondering who this source close to the talks is, it could very possibly be Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker trying to drive up the price to get one last good offer from the Cards before signing with them.

ESPN.com wrote:DALLAS -- A.J. Burnett moved closer to agreeing to a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays as his agents and the team worked into Tuesday morning to wrap up final details.

The sides anticipate the deal being finalized later today.

Sources said that St. Louis, which reportedly offered Burnett $40 million over four years and was Toronto's lone competitor for Burnett, has faded from contention and that Burnett is on the verge of joining reliever B.J. Ryan as the second pitcher to sign a five-year deal with Toronto this offseason.